(Ping! Zine Web Hosting Magazine) – In honor of National Cyber Security Awareness Month, Checkmarx, a global leader in software application security, today launched http://securedevkit.com to raise awareness for secure development within R&D teams. The campaign provides CISOs/CSOs and software development managers with a kit that includes physical and online tools to promote secure application development within their organization.

“We’ve been seeing a rise in hackers successfully exploiting vulnerabilities in web and mobile applications that often exist from the early development stage of the software and remain undetected until it’s too late,” said Asaph Schulman, VP Marketing at Checkmarx. “We repeatedly hear security managers and CISOs concerned about the secure coding knowledge of their development teams and are looking to provide more training. With the #SecureDevAware campaign, we are providing, free of charge, a kit with a structured program to allow companies to sharpen their developers’ security acumen in a fun and interactive way so many of the most common security vulnerabilities can be avoided in the first place.”

Secure Development Kit

In anticipation of National Cyber Security Awareness Month, Checkmarx has delivered hundreds of Secure Development Kits to R&D teams. The physical kit includes everything needed to raise awareness within a development organization for application security – and to have some fun at the same time. The kit contains teaser cards, a poster of security tips, stickers, bag pins, Game of Hacks t-shirts as well as instructions for organizing a Game of Hacks Challenge in the workplace. Secure Development Kits can be ordered here: http://securedevkit.com.

Game of Hacks Challenge

Created by Checkmarx, Game of Hacks is an educational solution that helps developers and security experts hone their security skills and educate their peers. During National Cyber Security Month, Checkmarx is encouraging developers to organize a Game of Hacks Challenge in the workplace. The game, which is available for desktop, tablet and mobile, presents the developer with vulnerable pieces of code and challenges them to identify the application layer vulnerability as quickly as possible. Full details on how to organize a Game of Hacks Challenge can be found here.

Tip of the Day

Throughout the month of October, Checkmarx will be providing a daily Application Security (AppSec) tip. The tips all come from global AppSec experts and address Application Security, Mobile Security, Robust Agile Security, and Awareness and Education for Developers. In addition, followers can submit their own AppSec tips by tweeting them to @Checkmarx with the hashtag #SecureDevAware.

“As we design and use more and more applications that deal with more sensitive data and information than ever before, we need to be fully aware of their security implications. It’s easy to just hope for the best when you release an app and pray nobody finds a vulnerability in it,” said Schulman. “When it comes to development, Secure Development Awareness can pay off big time in the long run.”

About Checkmarx

Checkmarx is a leading developer of software solutions used to identify, fix and block security vulnerabilities in web and mobile applications. It provides an easy and effective way for organizations to introduce security into their Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) which systematically eliminates software risk before applications are released. The company’s customers include 5 of the world’s top 10 software vendors and many Fortune 500 and government organizations, including SAP, Samsung, Salesforce.com, Coca Cola and the US Army. For more information about Checkmarx, visit https://www.checkmarx.com or follow us on twitter: @Checkmarx.

About National Cyber Security Awareness Month

Celebrated every October, NCSAM is designed to engage and educate public and private sector partners through events and initiatives with the goal of raising awareness about cyber security. Now in its 12th year, NCSAM is coordinated and led by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and the Department of Homeland Security. For more information, visit http://www.staysafeonline.org/ncsam.